Unthinkable Alternate End 1
by KatherineMP20
Summary: Alternate Ending 1A to 'unthinkable'. Summaries, definitions, notes and details inside. Rated T for very mild language.
1. Chapter 1

_***AN* This is the first alternate ending to "Unthinkable". This takes place from midway through Chapter 18, just before he is pronounced dead and just after they arrived at the hospital. This should only be about 2 chapters long plus an epilogue if it fits. I make it sound like I have a lot of alternate ending ideas which I do but not all of them are going to make the cut only 2 or 3 really. I like to put in alternate endings to challenge myself. Many people think its because I cant decide on an ending, sometimes this is true but for the most part I just want to put it all out in the open so I know I can write different plot lines; I want to be sure that I didnt take the easy way out and choose the simple ending or the ending everyone wants to read. Many authors write different endings to begin with and often go over them several times to see which one fits as the story rolls along. In any case enjoy!***_

She grabbed a chair and pulled it as close as she could and leaned over the bed.

"James, I hope you can hear me, I just wanted to let you know that I forgive you. You might not believe me but I do. I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit you.; if I was allowed to go, you know I would have. Please don't think me forgiving you is from regret. I had a lot of time to think this through. You're like a brother to me and I never want to lose that bond. Just know that I still love you. I just wanted you to know that so you can be free. Don't worry about me, I'll miss you, but I know you'll be in a better place. There's no need for you to suffer anymore, but I'll be here until you're ready to make your decision."

Outside the door, Kendall, Carlos and Logan were in tears. Katie's words rung true in their hearts, they were like brothers and no matter what, they still had that deep bond. They felt selfish in a way, Katie went through the most but was able to forgive James, while they kept their distance. They didn't want it to end this way. They made their way back inside. Katie turned to them, hearing them coming. Carlos stood next to Katie, Logan and Kendall were on the other side. They looked at their friend in silence as they gathered their words.

"James, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did to you." Kendall started "I'll be honest with you, you deserved that punch in the face for what you made everyone go through but I'm still sorry for not being there."

"I'm sorry too, bro." Logan said.

"We hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us, James. Please." Carlos added

"We're family till the end and nothing is going to change that." Kendall finished. They sat in silence for several minutes, content with having everything out in the open. James' parents came back and a doctor followed not too far behind. He checked the heart monitor and compared it to his notes.

"He seems to be stable although still in a critical condition. He might just pull through, but don't get your hopes up, he's not out of the woods yet. The longer he fights the better chance of survival, however, the longer he stays on life support, the less chance his body has of functioning on its own." he said. "you will have all legal rights as the parents. You can decide when to pull the plug." the doctor walked out without another word. Even though James was still in a bad condition, they were hopeful that he had improved a little bit. It meant he was fighting for his life. The minutes turned into hours and soon day turned to night, they were allowed to stay at his bed side through the night. One by one they all fell asleep and hoped for the best as they had both dreams and nightmares. Logan had a violent nightmare, he was shaken awake by Carlos.

"Dude, Logan, wake up!" he whispered. Logan finally came too after a few shakes; he blinked as he tried to focus on Carlos.

"Carlos, what's the matter?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"I was going to ask you the same question, you were talking in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

"I don't remember anything."

"Well it must have been something big; you socked me right in the face!"

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, man! You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just concerned about you."

"I'm all good. You should get an ice pack or something though."

"Yeah, I'll get something. Then I'm going back to sleep on the other side of the room." Carlos assured. Logan chuckled as he shifted himself to fall back asleep. Since they had fallen asleep so late and were emotionally and mentally exhausted, they slept in until almost noon! The Maslow's had woken up several hours ago and after checking on James went to get some breakfast. They figured the others would sleep for a while if they let them, and they needed it so they took their time. As the morning progressed, the hospital got busier and noisier and in turn, began to wake the teens. Logan made enough noise stumbling his way into the bathroom he woke Carlos who was already beginning to stir. Katie was sound asleep on the floor and Kendall was laying next to her on a row of chairs. Carlos went to wake them but a loud crash from the bathroom did the job for him. Kendall shot awake, and in his daze, fell off the chairs to the floor hitting Katie. He narrowly missed landing directly on top of her, but she still got kicked. She woke up almost yelping in pain and in a panicked confusion. Nurses ran inside to see if everyone was alright. Logan was getting up off the bathroom floor, he had went to use the step pedal on the trash can but lost his balance. He knocked it over and then tripped over it. He was alright. Kendall was still sitting on the floor, legs on top of Katie; she had calmed down quickly once she gained her senses. Kendall was a little sore from the fall, Katie had gotten kicked in the head and the shoulder blade. A nurse helped Carlos, untangle his friends before checking over Katie real quick. She was responding just fine; she had received a soft kick from Kendall's calf that impacted the blow. The pain in her shoulder would subside in a few hours. Kendall hit his tailbone and hip and didn't want to move for a while, but inevitably he was fine. Once everyone was up and brushed off, they focused on what was actually important: James. He looked the same as last night but they waited for a doctor to tell them otherwise.

As the days went by, James condition improved although he stayed in a coma. His lung function was improving and he was regaining some color from his vitamin rich diet. The time had come for the decision, James could stay on life support no longer if there was any hope that he would breathe on his own; however there wasn't a very large chance that he would be able to function anyway. The teens awaited the decision as the looked at the Maslow's. The decided it was best if they did pull the plug and just hope for the best. There were no arguments from the teens as they looked at the friend. The Maslows joined them as the doctor worked the machine. It stopped clicking, humming and inflating. The heart monitor kept going as it told the tale of James struggle. It beat faster for a few seconds before slowing down again. They watched the James for any sign of life before watching the monitor like it was the last few seconds of overtime at a basketball game. It kept slowing down.

"Come on, James. Fight!" Logan said. They stared in silence, just waiting. The heart monitor began to sound off at his low pulse rate.

"No! Come on James, you can do this! You're too strong to give up!" Katie said

"James don't do this…!" Kendall said

"Come on buddy, show us what you're made of." Carlos encouraged, for a few measly seconds his pulse went back up high enough to stop the alarm. James was fighting for his life right now, and no one could do anything to help. He had already lasted longer than most patients after being pulled from life support. James wanted to live and his friends could see that. They just wished he could see it. They kept yelling for him to fight and to wake up as the alarm kept going off, they weren't going to let him give up. His heart rate kept slipping until eventually he flatlined.

"NO!" Katie yelled "James don't leave me!" She grabbed his hand as she screamed to him. It was heartbreaking to see her fall apart. Kendall tried to pull her back but she wouldn't go. Mr. Maslow couldn't take it.

"I don't care what you have to do, just help my son! I may have been the one to say pull the plug but now I'm telling you to save him!" he ordered the doctor. The doctor was stunned for a moment as he stared at Mr. Maslow.

"Crash cart!" the dr. finally ordered. A team was rushed in as they frantically worked on James, every second counted and they had already missed several. Kendall and Carlos both pulled Katie back by force as the medical teamed cranked up the dials and tried to jump start his heart. They all had to exit the room and wait in the hallway. Katie was almost inconsolable but soon quieted down. After what seemed like hours the doctor finally came out. They looked at him with expressionless faces; they didn't want to hear the news.

"We tried everything and managed to get his heart beating again. Its too early to say if there is any permanent damage, he'll have to wake up first." They had mixed feelings; happy and sad. Now it was just a waiting game.

As the days went by, James grew stronger but he just wouldn't wake up, he no longer needed help breathing. He was still quite lean; once he woke up he was going to be upset about the loss of his muscle. AS his condition improved, guests were only allowed during the day and they had to go home at night. He would have to stay at Rhodes Island General until he was well enough to return home and for that he would have to wake up first. He had since been released from prison on parole. An ankle bracelet was placed on him for the remainder of his sentence. As much as they wanted to stay, no one could afford to stay in RI any longer. The Maslow's flew back to California and BTR went to CT with Katie. They could crash with her until her parents returned from their retirement trip. This way they could still be somewhat close, only a few hours. Katie was the first contact to be reached if there was any change.

They were all on a vacation in a way. Nickelodeon wasn't paying them though since they weren't earning any money for the company; so they had money wired from home to pay for food. Nickelodeon studios had since released a statement talking briefly of the hiatus of BTR in both filming and touring. In turn it raised questions from fans and it started rumors that the guys had a fight with each other or with Nickelodeon. They would wait until either he woke up or passed away before releasing anything else.

The days turned to weeks and James looked better and better. He was completely healed and was in a stable condition. He was moved out of ICU to a private room to wait out his coma. It had been nearly a month in his coma, no one had visited him in a long time, Katie couldn't afford the gas to make the trip and the Maslow's had to return to work. They just waited by the phone in hopes that something would change and improve; waiting for the call that he had woken up.

"Hey, I got a call from work, asking to teach at a fellow dog training school. It's in Killingly, right on the boarder of RI. I can stay over a few nights to visit James. You guys want to come?"

"Absolutely!" Logan said.

"When?" Carlos asked

"Its Thursday." Katie replied.

"Let's start packing then." Kendall said to the group before the boys scattered through the house. She watched as they ran past her and she tried to dodge them as they jumped and ducked past her, back and forth.

"But…its only Monday…" she tried to tell them but they were too hyped up.

Thursday rolled around and she was actually up first this time. She woke them up as gently as possibly and although groggy woke up pretty quickly as they dashed about. She packed up her things into her car and they met her outside.

"2 of you in the third row, and one gets shotgun. Shadow gets second." she said. Kendall and Logan squeezed into the back while Katie fetched Shadow. He jumped in ready and waiting; once Katie started the car he gave a howl. She pulled forward to let Carlos in and off they went. Katie went to her lecture first and the guys were excited, they never saw her teach before. There weren't any videos or photos on her face book or the schools website, her students papers were under lock and key; it was very hushed. They marveled at her prowess as she commanded Shadow both with words and silent, non-verbal commands. The moves both her and Shadow made were like a well rehearsed ballet; it was so graceful and tuned. She demonstrated a recall technique with a crop before dismissing Shadow to the corner to lay down and she continued on. She received a round of applause and stayed for an additional hour to answer questions after class and let the students play with Shadow. After re-packing the car and signing out the guys waited for Katie as she finished up inside with teacher things. She came out, put Shadow in the back and hopped on the highway to RI.

By the time they got their it was mid afternoon and there were only a few hours left for visitors. James condition hadn't changed much if at all, although he looked healthy. Knowing how far they came, they were granted to stay the night and brought out cots, blankets and pillows for them. Time flew by at the hospital, it was midnight when a nurse came around to put the lights on their dimmers or turn them off completely as they did every night. They got comfy on their cots and fell asleep pretty quickly. Katie got up in the middle of the night, she checked her phone and it was around 4:30 in the morning. Before going back to sleep, she checked on James. She sat next to him for a little while, whispering to him and holding his hand. She was still tired and didn't notice she was nodding off to sleep as she talked.

_***AN* In these bottom AN's I will dictate any minor differences I may have thought of or originally implemented as I wrote. These would just be minor details that wouldnt change the overall plot all that much such as Instead of waiting for a reason to go to RI, they made it a weekly trip. I also thought about adding additional dialogue when Katie talked to James during the night but I decided to lay off and leave most of this as a narration. ***_


	2. Chapter 2

_***AN* Last chapter of this alternate ending. There will be a short epilogue to this most likely; just to describe what happens next. The next alternate ending might coincide with this one a little bit.**_

(James POV)  
>All I could see was dark. I couldn't hear anything either, everything was fuzzy or garbled in a way. I tried to open my eyes but they felt so heavy. I could feel myself trying to move but I wasn't actually moving. I cant remember anything that happened before. All of a sudden I became aware of the dark I was seeing. So what gives? What is going on?<p>

James was dreaming in a way. He was trying to fight his way out of his subconscious. He was awake and aware but he wasn't in reality. He breathed hard a few times before stopping because of a sharp pain in his side. His broken ribs hadn't quite healed yet, although he didn't know he had broken ribs, he didn't know anything. He was going to be in the shock of his life once he found out.  
>Everyone was sound asleep in his room and didn't see James trying to snap out of his dream realm. He took short choppy breaths as his whole body moved and twitched. He finally managed to fight his way out of his coma and opened his eyes. He had to blink a few times before he could see anything. It was dark in his room with only a little bit of dawn's light shining through the blinds. He saw a door with light coming from it, he squinted at the bright light and turned away before he noticed a dark shadowy figure beside him. He was weak and found it hard to move too much, his arms were numb and they tingles as he tried to move them. He gained enough resistance to the light to look at the figure beside him to make out that it was Katie. She was sound asleep at his side in a chair, head resting on her arm on the bed. She was holding his hand. He moved his neck a little bit but it was straining to do so. He tried to call her name instead but couldn't find his voice. He finally managed to gain some feeling in his hands and began to massage her hand before squeezing it a little bit. After a few times she moaned ever so lightly before turning over. She opened her eyes and rubbed them before stretching as she got up. She had been there for a couple hours and was heading back to her cot. In the dark she didn't notice him awake. She fell back asleep on her cot and James was left alone in the dark, confused. He slowly fell back asleep and slipped back into a coma.<br>Sounds of a nurse walking through woke up Katie and Carlos. She ignored them and did her work. They watched as she did her thing for a little bit. Katie put her head back down to try to go back asleep but couldn't. she eventually got up after the nurse left and was going to ask Carlos if he wanted to get something to eat but noticed he was asleep. She decided to say good morning to James first instead.  
>"Good morning James." She whispered as she held his hand. "It's a beautiful day, if we were anywhere near a beach I'm sure you'd love to go surfing right about now. You've been cooped up for so long, you must be going crazy. You're not one to just sit around all day!" She looked at his eyes, as if he would open them any second. He was breathing deeper than he had but the nurse was just here and said nothing, so she figured it was alright. She leaned over to give him a light hug. "I wish I could give you a great big hug to show you how much I miss you right now. What I wouldn't give for you to hug me back. I just want everything to be normal again." she leaned back and stood at his bed side as a single tear rolled down her face. She wiped it away before leaving to get something to eat. She brought back cereal for the guys who were still asleep. She checked her phone and it was almost 9; they would wake up in a little bit. She left the food on the chairs and went to the hospitals library for a little bit so she could check her email.<br>Carlos woke up shortly after Katie left. He was confused when he didn't see her but then noticed the cereal. He ate a box before trying to get a hold of Katie. He had no signal. He groaned softly before checking the hallway. He had no idea where to begin looking and gave up, thinking she would come back in a little bit; he went and explored a little bit while Logan and Kendall slept. Katie lost track of time in the library and saw it was after 11am. She quit her browsing and went back upstairs to find Logan and Kendall still asleep. She expected them to be awake by now, but she let them sleep. Carlos came in shortly after.  
>"There you are; where did you head off too?"<br>"I was at the library. I lost track of time.' She explained "I'm surprised these two are still asleep. Where are you coming from?"  
>"I didn't know where you had wandered off to so I went exploring, I got noticed by a parent though. I wasn't thinking about being recognized. We've been careless lately."<br>"You're right. I don't worry about it; I'm not popular. I got to remember I'm with you guys though."  
>"You're popular!"<br>"Not as much as you guys and you know it." she replied "How did it go with the parent?"  
>"I managed to play it off like I wasn't from the show. I hope that wont backfire on us…"<br>"I hope not but I don't think it will. We'll just have to stay low and try to avoid attention. Let's just hope that the parent doesn't try to come look for us." Katie said. Their conversation woke up Kendall. Kendall groaned as he stretched and woke up Logan. They ate their cereal and were filled in on what was going on, before going for a quick walk to stretch their legs. They each went in a separate direction to avoid being seen together and avoided going into public or busy areas. Katie sat by James side for a little bit, reading a book. Carlos was doing the same. Kendall came back from the gift shop with a bunch of magazines. Logan came back about 20 minutes later. They were soon hungry and were about to get some lunch.  
>"You coming, Katie?" Logan asked.<br>"Yeah, I'll meet you down there."  
>"Sure." he replied with a smile. Kendall and Logan left. Carlos was in the bathroom. She grabbed James hand.<br>"I'll be right back James. Just going to get some lunch." she said with a smile. She gave it a squeeze before letting go, but then she stopped cold. He was holding her hand back! I was a loose grip but nonetheless he was squeezing her!  
>"Carlos!" she called as she heard him coming out of the bathroom. He ran over, not wasting a second.<br>"What's wrong?"  
>"Look!" she said holding out her hand. Carlos' eyes lit up at the site. "Go get a nurse or a doctor, somebody! Let's just hope this isn't some automatic reaction." He ran out and came back quickly with a nurse who had called a doctor. She took a look at the site and saw only a short glimpse before James let go.<br>"Oh no…come on James, stay with me." Katie said.  
>"Come on Buddy, you can do this. Fight it, James" Carlos encouraged. The doctor answered his page and the nurse filled him in. he attempted to recreate the scene but wasn't getting much luck. He ordered a head scan to look for any knew activity, right away. He was wheeled to radiology and would be a while. Carlos and Katie headed to the café to tell Logan and Kendall. Once they finished lunch, they ran back upstairs only to be met with an empty room. They waited for almost forty-five minutes before James came back. The doctor followed with his results.<br>"There is increased activity going on which is an excellent sign, it also means that him squeezing your hand was not an automatic response but a conscious one. He's not in a very deep coma with these results, instead he is unconscious. For whatever reason he's having trouble coming out of it, he's fighting though, with any luck he should wake up in a couple days." he said  
>"What if he doesn't?" Katie asked<br>"Hmm. I'm not sure; there could be damage that we aren't seeing that is preventing him from functioning properly. Just give it time." he replied.  
>They were allowed to stay the following nights instead of getting a hotel room to share. The horse passed by slowly as they waited for more signs of him coming out of his coma. They slept at ease at night knowing their friend was going to be alright but at the same time they were anxious for him to wake up. They didn't want him to be alone or confused. They wanted to be there with him. They considered taking shifts at night but it didn't last and the nurses frowned upon it. The nurses wanted them to sleep. It wasn't worth their health to worry over their friend, the nurses would be checking in often enough anyway.<br>Katie was dreaming, she couldn't remember what it was but she had been pulled from her dream and back to semi-reality. A noise woke her up the rest of the way. She wasn't fully awake or conscious and thought it was Shadow dreaming. She loudly whispered his name to get him to stop as she normally did but it kept going. She began to realize it wasn't Shadow, it wasn't a whimper or a bark it was huffing. And Shadow was in a kennel, she and BTR were at the hospital. She opened her eyes and looked around, sure enough that's where they were but where was the noise coming from? It was rather quiet actually. In the dark she couldn't see but she pin pointed the sound coming from James, she got up in a haste and tripped over someone or something but didn't waste anytime trying to figure out what. She searched for the little night light above his bed and turned it on.  
>"James?" she whispered. He was twitching and breathing heavy and erratically; every now and then a sound would escape his lips. "James!" she said a little louder. She wasn't sure what was going on. Was he having trouble breathing or was he dreaming? Between his commotion and her calling his name she caught the attention of Kendall. He was groggy and didn't quite grasp what was going on right away. He got up after a few seconds and came over once he saw Katie in the outskirts of the light above James bed. He said nothing once he saw James twitching and went outside for a nurse. She came in quickly with another nurse and they went straight to work. They called his name and tapped him trying to get his attention. He was still asleep but in a dream world trying to fight his way back to reality. His blood pressure and heart rate were rising but not to dangerous levels.<br>The commotion woke Logan and Carlos and they joined the circle confused and worried. They sent encouraging words to James in hopes he would hear them. The struggle went on for several minutes and at times got quite strong. No one was sure what was going to happen, if he kept going for much longer it wouldn't be good for his body and he might not make it through it. But it was another sign that the James they all know and love was alive and strong. He wasn't one to give up easily. A big loud gasp from James caught everyone by surprise by its loud, raspy sound. His eyes opened wide and he shot up in bed like a soldier but he was in full adrenaline mode for what his body could support, he was confused and panicked and tried to fight everyone off. He was breathing hard and heavy as he fought off being pushed back down onto the bed. Kendall, Carlos, Logan and Katie swarmed the bed and helped as much as they could. James wasn't thinking or seeing clearly and wasn't registering his friends. After a few seconds he began to grasp at his throat; the oxygen tube was still attached and now somewhat blocked his air way as he tried to take in more air than it allowed. Everyone was calling his name but it just wasn't clicking, eventually he ran out of stamina, although the adrenaline was still flowing, and he laid back on the bed eyes wide as he darted from face to face trying to put the pieces together.  
>After a few seconds he was calm enough to understand his surroundings. One of the nurses turned on the light and he squinted away from it.<br>"James, can you hear me?" a nurse asked. He didn't respond. "James?" she said again. He managed to let out a soft yes. He couldn't find his voice and his throat was dry and sore. He didn't have the energy to clear his throat or sip water. "open your eyes for me, sweetheart." she said as she took a light from her apron. He opened his eyes slowly at the bright lights above his head and looked at the nurse only to be met with the flash light. She held his eyes open to get a response from his pupils. He mostly lay still on the bed but soon got antsy with all the hands on him. He wanted answers to all the questions, what was going on, why was he here? He was asked the same questions and then put through more tests. He was moving and conscious, what more did they want from him? He just wanted to get up.  
>"Ok, you seem to be in good shape. We'll get the doctor in too look at you in a little bit. For now, you have some visitors." the nurse said, both nurses moved to the side and James saw Katie, Carlos, Logan and Kendall staring back at him; worried looks on their faces. He tried to talk but still no words came out. He stared at them, wide eyed waiting for them to say something before he looked at Katie. She wasted no time in giving him a hug. She latched on and didn't let go. James tried his best to hug back but his arms were still numb. He cried as he held his best friend. His memories came flooding back to him, he hoped they were real but in the back of his mind and in his heart, he knew they were to real to have been just a dream. He was happy that Katie was hugging him. He was sure she would hate him forever. Things were definitely going to be different but this was a good start. The guys eventually greeted James one at a time after James and Katie had their heartfelt reuniting. They tried to stay strong as they gave him pats on the shoulder and talked but tears were starting to overflow.<br>The doctor came in to see everyone having a good time and checked James over real quick before ordering some tests. They took several hours to complete and when they came back, he was given an almost clean bill of health. He had to stay in the hospital for about 1-2 weeks for some physical therapy and to monitor brain activity and motor skills. Then he would be transferred to a rehabilitation center for 2 months before he could rest at home and be re-introduced to his daily living. He was going to have to learn many things over again and rebuild all his muscle.  
>Katie called James' parents and they were thrilled with the news, they made arrangements for him to be sent out to LA for rehab in a few months. It would be another year before BTR would be back to its former glory but as long as they had their friend, it was worth it.<p>

_***AN* Yes, James lives! I tried hard to describe his ordeal as best i could but I had difficulty getting the feeling into the description. It might be a little hard to follow, but picture James waking up as if you were having a nightmare and you wake up suddenly all out of breath and confused. He does recognize his friends, the shock was that he was surprised they came. He immediately knew they forgave him. **_

_**The epilogue might describe James recovery, and the future of BTR but nothing drastic. I write epilogues for my own benefit to be honest; they are like notes for me of what I could expand upon or just to get my thoughts down. I like to start new stories on a clean slate even if its just an alternate ending. I want to make sure I dont mix up what I am writing about.** _

_**The next Alt Ends, like I said, will collide with each other in a way. Its and alternate ending for this alternate ending, if that makes any sense at all. it'll be 1B up in a week or so. Still have a few outlines to write up. i need to write down my ideas because I'm forgetting them all! Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_***AN* Epilogue. The next alternate ending will be an alternate ending to this alternate ending! LOL I know, confusing. James was a live in this and everything went smoothly so the next part must be_. Take a couple guesses but you might be surprised at what I come up with. I'd offer a contest for the closest guesser but I dont have time to write any additional stories. look forward to the new post coming soon. I'll be writing the whole thing before posting so that is why the chapters come in bunches.**_

James pushed himself to the limit everyday, when the nurses weren't around. He had to be monitored closely. He wanted to get better and fast. He wanted to get back to work; he felt bad that he was making everybody wait for him to heal. They were going to wait while he was in prison but now its going to take longer. He was completely rehabilitated mentally and he finished his 'house arrest' without any complications. After 2 weeks he went to a local rehab facility for 1 month before he could travel back to California. He still needed rehab work before he could begin his normal daily routine. He would have to start slow at getting back into the swing of things being on tour and doing the show. He couldn't talk for a while and almost had to be retrained. He suffered some minor, temporary damage from when his heart stopped the first time, but with work he got over it.  
>He worked out almost everyday and after about 6 months had a decent outline of muscle. He worked hard and had plenty of dedication to finish his day's tasks. By the end of the night he was exhausted and slept well into the next morning. Before getting up and starting almost immediately. If he could skip meals and breaks to do his rehab, he would have. Kendall, Logan and Carlos visited him about once a week in between odd jobs they had to keep them busy while they were on hiatus. After about a month Carlos and Logan both flew back home to visit family for the holidays. Katie returned to CT once James was doing fine in the hospital and they hadn't talked since. He couldn't wait to see her, he wanted to make sure that they could still be friends and that it wasn't just because he was close to death that she cared about him.<br>Katie thought about him almost everyday, she went on with her life while they were on break and began to feel disheartened that James didn't contact her. In fact, none of the guys did. She knew what it was going to be like, they were the big stars and she wasn't. Every Nick show had their key star and then the side kick star both on and off screen. She may have had her own singing career but it wasn't the money maker for Nick. What she didn't know is that they thought about her on and off. They missed her for sure, but figured she went through so much that she could use a vacation from everyone and everything. She could spend some time with her own friends and family like they were. They didn't know that she didn't have much of a social life outside of her job.  
>Eventually James was well enough to return to shooting the show. Touring would have to wait another year or two as he relearned dance moves and went through some singing lessons and touring boot camp to gain stamina and the like. James wanted to keep shooting but every hour or so they would stop and force him to take five to avoid him getting over worked. He got frustrated with being handled with kid gloves and wanted to get some work done. After a month, shooting lasted longer and he got less of a social life, they had only shot about 4 episodes so far and they were out of order. Katie couldn't fly out for another few weeks, as she finished up giving exams.<br>Once she flew out, it was a completely different scene. It was a little awkward at first. James was thrilled to see her and they hugged each other but he felt weird being alone with her at any point, the fun stuff they used to do together and the habits they had ceased between them. It was like that with the others as well. They didn't sleep in front of each other and they made certain to be completely dressed and appropriately. It got tedious though but it was worth it in order to make Katie feel comfortable. They made it a point not to come up behind her or scare her, just in case she wasn't completely cured of her PTSD; even though it had been about 2-3 years now.  
>They had only been working with each other again for a few months though. With time, they would become just as comfortable with each other as they had been. It was a secret just between them and nickelodeon. Katie's parents didn't even know. They were all over 21 so hospital visits were kept quiet unless they decided to tell anyone. The parents were good friends with each other but Katie made it blatantly clear not to tell them. They were already worried for their only child and this would give them the ammunition to make her quit. They would sue anyone they could. Katie didn't want to relive the memory over and over by going to court.<br>She got it out in the open as much as she wanted and then put it behind her. She was determined not to let it affect her in a negative way, she wanted to overcome it, which she did. In fact she grew from it; in a way it boosted her self esteem. Even though it was rape, she felt that she was at least attractive enough to be raped, as bad as that sounded. She never had a boyfriend in her life and was now a little timid to get one but at least she knew she had a chance. But that was a different story, saved for another time. Right now she wanted to focus on her career as a TV star and her future career in animal sciences.  
>As BTR went into it's 8th season, everything was back to normal and had been for a while. Touring had resumed, James was as healthy as ever, and everyone was friends again. That day all those years ago never came up in conversation and eventually faded from everyone's memory. The show was eventually cancelled as it hit it's 12th season, because of a decrease in ratings but the tours went on for another few years. The guys were in well into their 30's when they finally called it quits, they just couldn't keep up with it as much anymore. James and Logan couldn't do as many back flips and had a difficult time just trying to land on their feet. They were in the midst of starting their own families. Carlos had gotten married a few years ago and were trying to have children, Kendall had a daughter on the way to think about. Logan had two children with his wife as well. James remained single for a little bit before settling down. Katie was focused on her career, she had a tough time finding love but was still happy with her life. They enjoyed it while it lasted and had a 'big time rush' until the end.<p>

**_*AN* additional info: keep in mind I write based on me, I am 21 currently and work with animals etc. not too much of my character is exaggerated from what I write. the only thing that is wrong is the rape. i have never been raped. Never been to prison. Never met BTR ): Just thought I'd clear that up!_**


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